Band lore states that their name came from both a flippant reference to Adolf Hitler's dog Blondie as well as vocalist Harry's bright blond hair. Previously having been a Playboy Bunny, Harry fronted the early version of the band. initially known as "Angel and the Snakes". They built up underground fame in NYC. Blondie released their first album, 'Blondie', in 1976. The album was mildly successful and spawned the Australian hit single "In The Flesh". Gary Valentine left the band later that year, and they continued briefly as a foursome, recording 'Plastic Letters' and gaining more airplay with their track "Denis". Still in touch with their punk roots, having played in clubs such as CBGBs and hung out with rock artists such as the Ramones, the band broke out into other, more diverse influences such as older dance and pop music, particularly interested in Phil Spector's 'wall of sound' technique.
Valentine was replaced by Los Angeles-based musician Frank Infante (guitar, bass guitar) in 1977. Infante had already played guitar on one track on 'Plastic Letters'. The band went out playing live with Infante and Stein swopping between playing guitar and bass guitar throughout each concert. The band also added British born but LA-based Nigel Harrison (bass guitar), making Blondie a six piece group for the first time. Harrison was a former member of the glam rock band Silverhead.
In 1978, they released the album that would make them international stars, titled 'Parallel Lines'. The album spawned several hit singles, including the number one hit "Heart Of Glass", "Sunday Girl", "Hanging On The Telephone" (a cover of the famous power pop track by The Nerves), and "One Way Or Another". The success of the heavily disco influenced "Heart of Glass", a song sometimes censored for its use of strong language for the time and considered by the band as tongue-in-cheek, proved controversial among many fans of the band's punk background, but it managed to break them through at a massive level.
They released three more albums (1979's Eat To The Beat, 1980's Autoamerican (containing the number one singles "The Tide Is High" and "Rapture") and 1982's The Hunter) as well as a number one single "Call Me", from the score of the 1980 film "American Gigolo".
In 1980, Harrison contributed several unused Blondie songs to ex-Silverhead singer Michael Des Barres solo album I'm Only Human. In 1981, Harry released a solo album Koo Koo, Destri released a solo album Heart On A Wall. Burke recorded and played live with the Eurythmics, and Stein started a record label named Animal Records.
In 1982, health problems for Stein, declining sales and inter-band tension caused the band to split. Harry kept a low profile for a few years while she nursed (now former) boyfriend Stein through a serious illness, but then continued a solo career as an actress/singer.
Reformation plans begun in 1997 with a line-up that included Harry, Stein, Destri, Burke, Valentine, and Harrison. Infante was not invited to the reunion. Valentine and Harrison were eventually (and unceremoniously, they claim) replaced by Paul Carbonara (guitar) and Leigh Foxx (bass).
The band released No Exit in 1998, which did quite well in both US and UK charts and contained the number one hit single "Maria".
The album did not include any song contributions from Valentine or Harrison, despite them recording early sessions for the album and Valentine being assured by Stein that they would use his already recorded song "Amor Fati". Harrison and Infante later filed an unsuccessful lawsuit claiming breach of contract for not including them in the reunion.
The Curse Of Blondie was released in 2003 and, while not matching its predecessor in sales, was critically acclaimed and spawned the global dance hit "Good Boys".
Destri retired from touring in 2004. Kevin Patrick (keyboards), Destri's former keyboard tech and assistant, replaced him soon followed by Matt Katz-Bohen in 2008.
The band's 2006 induction ceremony into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame was the scene of an awkward moment between Infante and Harry, during which he asked that the former members be allowed to play along with fellow inductees Harry, Stein and Burke during the band's set, since it was the original band that was being inducted. Harry replied "Can't you see my band is up there?" prompting Infante to counter "I thought it was Blondie that was being inducted."
In 2006, the band toured as the opening act for The New Cars on the "Road Rage Tour." Although Harry was more than 60 years old, the band still managed incendiary versions of their old hits, while playing with enough fire to remind the audience of their punk roots.
In 2007, the band embarked on a tour of Europe, to coincide with the DVD release of the first ever music video album "Eat To The Beat".
Harry has since resumed her solo career, releasing 2007's Necessary Evil.
On June 5, 2008, Blondie commenced a world tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Parallel Lines with a concert at Ram's Head Live in Baltimore, Maryland. The tour covered some Eastern and Midwestern US cities throughout the month of June. In July, the tour took the band overseas to Israel, the UK, Russia, Europe and Scandinavia, wrapping up on August 2, 2008 at Rockefeller in Oslo, Norway.
Clem Burke and Paul Carbonara both recently told interviewers that the band is working on another record, which would be their first new album since the release of The Curse of Blondie in 2003. Carbonara described it as "a real Blondie record.
Blondie undertook a North American tour of mid-sized venues with Pat Benatar and The Donnas in the summer of 2009. Following the tour, in October, the band began recording sessions for their ninth studio album with producer Jeff Saltzman in Woodstock, New York. In December 2009, the band released the song "We Three Kings" to coincide with the Christmas holiday.
The new album, to be titled Panic of Girls, which was being mixed at the time, was said to follow in 2010. Chris Stein stated that Dutch artist Chris Berens will provide the cover art. In April 2010, it was announced that guitarist Paul Carbonara had amicably left Blondie to pursue other projects and was replaced by Tommy Kessler. Panic of Girls is tentatively set to be released in 2010/2011.
In June 2010, Blondie began the first leg of a world tour named "Endangered Species Tour", which covered the United Kingdom and Ireland, supported by UK band Little Fish. The set lists featured both classics and new material from the forthcoming Panic of Girls. After a break in July the tour will resume in August and cover the United States and Canada over a course of six weeks. Blondie is then set to take the "Endangered Species Tour" to Australia and New Zealand in November and December. It was revealed that the bands album will be released on the Australian Sony label in November 2010, and elsewhere in January 2011.
Songfacts reports that Mother, the first single from Panic of Girls received its global premiere on BBC Radio on March 17th, 2011 and was made available for purchase on May 23, 2011.
In May 2017 a new album was released named Pollinator with the single "Long Time" which saw the daylight in March.
In 2021, the band released a short film along with a soundtrack EP titled Vivir en la Habana. They also released an alternate version of their song Rapture titled “Yuletide Throwdown” which featured Fab 5 Freddy.
In 2022, Blondie released a Sunday Girl EP consisting of an unreleased demo and live version
of the song as well as the previously released french version of the track in honor of Record Store Day. The band went on a UK tour with support from Johnny Marr followed by a US tour with support from The Damned titled “Against The Odds Tour”, which Chris Stein did not attend due to health problems. They also announced the release of their first archival project and box set, titled Against The Odds: 1974 - 1982, which took six years to compile, began recording their twelfth studio album and remastered their music videos in HD.
Make A Way
Blondie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're playing Nintendo
But I wanna go oh oh
Go out tonight
Club life living inside me
Fabulous, better not hide me
Cause I wanna go all to the show and to dance
So the world knows
I wanna make a way for us
Cause I can't live without this in my universe
Kind of crazy that we can't rehearse
I wanna make a new day for us
Can't we wish it could stay?
I wanna make a way
I wanna make a way
All night you know where you can find me
You know that you remind me
The kind of guy that doesn't need a reason why
Come out wild, wild tonight
It's not tight if it doesn't go right
So hold it down and put your gin and tonic up high
I wanna go all to the show and to dance
So the world knows
I wanna make a way for us
Cause I can't live without this in my universe
Kind of crazy that we can't rehearse
I wanna make a new day for us
Can't we wish it could stay?
I wanna make a way
I wanna make a way
I wanna make a way for us
Cause I can't live without this in my universe
Kind of crazy that we can't rehearse
I wanna make a new day for us
Can't we wish it could stay?
I wanna make a way
I wanna make a way
There is nothing in the world that you can say
I wanna make a way
I wanna make a way
And if I choose this road then I'll be here to stay
I wanna make a way
I wanna make a way
I wanna make a way for us
Cause I can't live without this in my universe
Kind of crazy that we can't rehearse
I wanna make a new day for us
Can't we wish it could stay?
I wanna make a way
I wanna make a way
In the song “Make A Way” by Blondie, the singer is feeling restless and wanting to go out to the club scene. Despite her partner playing Nintendo, she is determined to make a way to go out and have fun. She wants to make a new day for herself and her partner by going out and dancing in the club scene. The lyrics reveal the singer’s frustration with being stuck at home and wanting to experience the night life. The song has a bouncy and upbeat rhythm which mirrors the singer's desire to make a change and go out on the town.
The chorus, “I wanna make a way for us, ‘cause I can’t live without this in my universe”, highlights the importance of having fun and experiencing a social life for the singer. She is determined to create a new reality for herself and her partner. The lyrics “the kind of guy that doesn’t need a reason why, come out wild, wild tonight” implies motivation from her partner to take a risk and create a new way of living. The song also shows the importance of taking risks and living life to the fullest, indicated with the line “It’s not tight if it doesn’t go right, so hold it down and put your gin and tonic up high.”
Line by Line Meaning
Street light shining through the window
A street light is shining through the window, indicating it is nighttime.
You're playing Nintendo
You are currently playing Nintendo, engaged in a form of entertainment.
But I wanna go oh oh
But I have the desire to go out tonight, to have fun.
Go out tonight
I have the desire to go out and have fun tonight.
Club life living inside me
I have a passion for the club life, and it is a part of who I am.
Fabulous, better not hide me
I am fabulous, and it would be to everyone's benefit to not try and hide me.
Cause I wanna go all to the show and to dance
I want to go to the show and dance so that the world knows who I am and what I enjoy.
So the world knows
I want to be known to the world for who I am and what I enjoy.
I wanna make a way for us
I want to create an opportunity for us to go out and have fun.
Cause I can't live without this in my universe
It is important for me to have fun and go out, as it is a part of how I live my life.
Kind of crazy that we can't rehearse
It is unfortunate that we cannot practice or prepare for a night out in advance.
I wanna make a new day for us
I want to create a new day for us to go out and have fun.
Can't we wish it could stay?
I wish that the fun we have could last forever, but it cannot.
All night you know where you can find me
You can find me out all night, enjoying myself.
You know that you remind me
You remind me of someone who enjoys having fun and going out.
The kind of guy that doesn't need a reason why
You are the type of person who does not need a reason to go out and have fun.
Come out wild, wild tonight
Tonight, let's go out and have fun without holding back.
It's not tight if it doesn't go right
It is not a good time if things don't go well or as planned.
So hold it down and put your gin and tonic up high
Stay calm and positive, and enjoy your drink.
There is nothing in the world that you can say
There is nothing that can be said to dissuade me from wanting to go out and have fun.
And if I choose this road then I'll be here to stay
If I continue down the path of having fun and going out, I will remain committed to it.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: CHRISTOPHER STEIN, DEBORAH HARRY, JEFF SALTZMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kc
on Accidents Never Happen
Judging from the cultural framework at the time i read it as lies being exposed for the middle income layers of the society who ere led to believe that if they follow certain codes they will be happy and prosperous but so many fail so accidents nver happen is a mockery